CONFESSIONS OF A PILATES TEACHER PT 1

This month marks one year since I took the leap from being a miserable, anxiety ridden employee to taking ownership of my life and my happiness and took my Pilates business from part-time to full-time. It has been a truly transformational year and it's incredible how much your life can change when you finally start to follow what lights you up!

As a Pilates teacher I often get asked lots of questions about what I do and also quite a few assumptions are made about how I live my life. I am so aware that social media can portray a certain "perfect" image or life which can not only mislead people but also, if you start to compare your life with what you see on social media you can end up feeling a little disheartened.

I want to make sure that I am always 100% honest and open with the people that I work with online and in person so I thought it would be fun to give you the answers to a few of the most common questions that I get asked.

DO YOU EAT "HEALTHY" ALL THE TIME?

Nope! I take care of myself, sure, but my life isn't always full of green juices, avocado salads or rice and chicken meals. I usually look to eat wholesome, nourishing foods from the earth because I LOVE the way that it makes me feel. I'm not overly rigid with my diet though, partly because I suffered with an eating disorder for a very long time when I was younger. At the beginning what started as counting calories and limiting my intake over my energy expenditure soon turned into an illness that was ingrained into my very being and very nearly cost me my life. For this reason being obsessive about what I eat, having a rigid diet or labelling foods as "good" and "bad" is something that I will never, ever promote. Instead I listen to what my body wants and needs, what makes it feel good; if I fancy something sweet I usually reach for a piece of dark chocolate or an almond bite but if we're out at the cinema pic & mix is not off the agenda!

YOU MUST WORKOUT ALL THE TIME?

Ha! I'm pretty sure that I find fitting in exercise as hard as everyone else! I teach 6 days a week, 2-5 hours a day and then have to run my business, film and write all on top of that! Life is busy and it can be easy to start seeing exercise as just another "have to do" part of your day which means it automatically becomes a bit of a chore. The most helpful thing that i've done is change my mindset around HOW I exercise. I don't tell myself that I HAVE to workout a couple of hours a week, instead I aim for about 10-15 minutes, 2-3 times a week around my teaching. If it's a lovely day I go for a walk listening to audible or if it's raining, I put some music on and dance around my house. There isn't any "I should" or "I have to" in my exercise routine and as a result I enjoy exercising so do it more often and don't feel guilty if I don't feel like it one day.

DO YOU SOMETIMES LOOK AT PEOPLE AND THINK YOU CAN'T HELP THEM?!

Never! The day I do is the day I stop teaching! There is no perfect in my book - what is perfect anyway?! Because of this I never urge my clients to do things exactly like everyone else. Perfectionism is one of the damaging dangers in our society because it is a goal that we will never reach. I have no opinion on my clients; it doesn't matter to me whether someone has never done exercise before or whether they run marathons on the weekends. All I care about is that my clients are open to try new things and give themselves the grace to make mistakes and take it step by step. Pilates isn't about perfectionism. It is about each individuals body and through practice learning the correct techniques in order to balance the muscles and create flexible strength. Every body can benefit from the Pilates technique in one way or another and in turn everyone can see improvements with their physical and mental health by participating in an exercise that isn't about being the best in a room of people or competing against others, it is about doing the best for the individual and reconnecting to themselves without any judgement.